Spray gun



June 1, 1937. A. F. JENKINS 2,082,060

SPRAY GUN Filed March 9, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l June l, 1937- A. F. JENKINS 2,082,050

SPRAY GUN Filed March 9, 1954 v 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented June l, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE f 12 claims.

This invention relates to spraying devices and more particularly to devices of this character generally designated spray guns, by means of which paint or other liquid coating material may be sprayed by means of compressed air.

The general object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved mechanism of the type described.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide novel valve setting or adjusting means for simultaneously controlling the rate of flow or volume of both the liquid and the compressed air supplied to the nozzle.

Another object of the invention is to provide novel means in conjunction with such synchronous or simultaneously operated adjusting or controlling means, for independently and differentially altering the setting of the valve assemblies controlling respectively the liquid and the air, so as to permit the delivery of these fluids in various predetermined proportions.

In its preferred embodiment, my invention contemplates the provision of means for controlling the flow of the air supplied particularly to the spray modifying jets of the nozzle of the gun,

and to coordinate this adjustment with the permitted flow of liquid material. The differential adjustment referred to permits an alteration in the relative volumes of air and liquid in accordance With the viscosities of the liquid materials which may be employed.

Other objects include the provision in a spraying device of this type, of novel disengaging means for throwing the synchronous control in and out of operation to enable the individual adjustment of either the liquid or air flow, and the provision of convenient stop means for limiting 'the adjusting movement of the common synchronous control.

Other objects and features of novelty will be apparent from the following specification when read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which certain embodiments of my invention are illustrated by way of example.

40 Referring to the drawings,

Fig. l is a side and sectional view of a gun embodying the novel construction;

Fig. 2 is a rear end view of the gun withV parts in section;

Fig. 3 is a detail view showing a modification of the operating means between the valves for synchronousv or independent adjustment of the valves;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view on line 4 4, Fig. 1, of the air valve that controls the spray flattening effect;

Fig. 4a is a detail sectional view of the air valve;

Fig. 5 is a diagram of a round spray;

Fig. 6 is a view of the valve mechanism with a setting producing the round spray, Fig. 5;

Fig. 'l is a diagram of a half-width flat spray;

Fig. 8 shows the setting producing the spray in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a diagram of a full-width flat spray;

Fig. 10 shows the setting producing the spray in Fig. 9;

Fig. l1 is an enlarged sectional view of the atomizer head, showing the various liquid and air connections with the body of the gun;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary front view of the atomizer head.

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that the body of the spray gun is designated generally by the reference numeral I, and may be in general of a more or less conventional contour, having a handle 2, an atomizing head or nozzle 3, and an actuating member or trigger 4. The trigger 4 is bifurcated and the arms thereof may be pivoted to the body of the gun in the usual way as indicated at 4a. The nozzle 3 is provided with an orifice 3a through which the liquid material is sprayed. This orifice is supplied with liquid material through the chamber 3b which has a tapered forward portion and is in communication rearwardly with the passageway l0 to which the material is supplied from a suitable reservoir. A tapered needle valve 5 is seated in the orifice 3a and is provided with a stem 5 extending rearwardly of the gun and provided with various connections by which the valve may be actuated and this actuation controlled to the desired degree.

For this purpose the valve stem 5 is intermediately provided with a helical groove or thread 5a. A sleeve 6 surrounds the valve stem 5 and is provided with a pin l, one end of which engages within the groove 5a. 'Ihe undersurface 6a of the sleeve 6 is flat and rests upon the flat upper surface of the shelf 'la provided on the body of the gun. A detachable connection between the actuating trigger 4 and the liquid valve stem 5 is provided in the yoke member 9 which is bifurcated and has its two arms pivoted to an intermediate portion of the trigger 4 as at 0a. The intermediate portion of the yoke member 9 is notched as at 9b so as to straddle the valve stem 5 but to abut the forward end of the sleeve 6 upon rearward movement of the trigger. This arrangement is very similar to the disclosure in the applicants Patent 1,800,451 in which a similar yoke member 20 is employed.

It will be readily understood that by rotation of the valve stem 5 the sleeve 6 may be moved forwardly or rearwardly with respect to the stem since the sleeve is prevented from rotating by contact with the shelf 1". Thus the longitudinal adjustment of the sleeve 6 along the valve stem 5 will determine the point at which the trigger 4 and its yoke member 9 will be brought into operative contact with the liquid valve assembly and also will determine to what degree the liquid valve will be opened and thus control the rate and volume of flow through the liquid passageways.

For rotating the paint valve, the following mechanism is provided. The valve stem 5 passes through a bore provided in the rear body portion of the gun and a bushing 8EL threaded within the bore. The bushing ila provides a seat for the coil spring 5b which at its forward end abuts another spring seat 8b which is carried by the valve stem 5. Upon the rear end of the valve stem there is provided a knurled knob 8 by which it may be rotated and, for a. purpose hereinafter described, may be retracted against the tensions of the spring 5b.

The compressed air which is employed to propel the liquid upon its emission Vfrom the nozzle is supplied through the passageway II and the spray modifying air is supplied through the passageway I9. Both of these passageways connect with the air chamber I2 disposed at the upper rear portion of the body of the gun and which is in communication with the main inlet air chamber I3 by means of the short passageway I4. A ball valve I5 is pressed upon a seat I5il between the chamber I3 and the passageway I4 by means of the spring I1. A stem I6 is carried by the ball valve and projects forwardly through suitable packing devices to be actuated by the trigger 4 through the intermediary of the U-shaped bridging member I'l.

The air for flattening the paint spray is emitted through nozzles or horns I8 on the head 3 which are supplied with air through a passage I9 leading from the head 3 to the chamber I2. In 'the chamber is an oscillatory swinging valve 20, on the inner end of a stem 2| that passes rearwardly through a stufng box 22 and has a knob 23 whereby the valve stem can be turned to the right or left to thereby control the amount of air supplying to the spray flattening nozzles I8. The valve 20 has a at surface 24 which bears against a corresponding flat surface 25 in the chamber I2, and is adapted to cover and uncover the inner end of the passage I9 to regulate the volume of air supplied to the latter, there being a spring 26 on the stem 2l to hold the valve against the seat 25.

The air valve 20 is preferably a plate of any suitable shape or size to effect the desired air control with relation to the volume of paint sprayed, and it is removably mounted so that interchangeable valves can be used. For this purpose it has a stem 2i]8L which enters a socket 2|a in the stern 2|, and is held in place by a pin 2|b against which bears a washer 2Ic that forms an abutment for the spring 26.

Air can be supplied to the main inlet chamber I3 in any suitable manner, as, for instance, by a lateral opening 21 in the body I of the gun. It will be understood that when the trigger is operated the air valve I5 will be opened at the same time the paint valve 5 is opened, and air will flow through the passage Il to cause paint to be atomized from the head 3, and obviously the spray vwill be flattened more or less according to the extent of opening of the valve 20.

In order that the spray may be changed in width from maximum to minimum or to any in termediate degree, the volume of paint should be increased or decreased synchronously with the amount of air delivered to the spray flattening nozzles. For this purpose operating means is provided to connect the paint and air valves together in such a manner that they operate simultaneously to produce the results mentioned.

A simple means for effecting this is to provide gears 28 and 29 on the paint valve stem 5 and the air valve stem 2I, which gears preferably mesh with an idler 30 journaled on an extension 3l of the cap 32 which closes the air chamber I3 and forms the abutment for the spring I1. By this means the turning of the idler will adjust the relative position of the paint and air valves to widen or contract the paint spray. It will be noted that the gear 28 is longer than the idler so that it will maintain mesh with the latter as the needle valve moves backwardly when the trigger is pressed. It will be desirable at times to adjust one valve with respect to the other so that the volume of paint can be increased or decreased with respect to the force of the air controlled by the air valve 20. For this purpose either knob 8 or 23 can be pulled backwardly against the tension of the springs 5b and 26, respectively, so as to disengage the gears; and then by turning either knob to the right or left and permitting the gears to re-engage, the set of the valves one with respect to the other can be changed. To facilitate the adjustment of the valves in this manner index scales 33 and 34 are provided on the knobs 8 and 23, respectively.

To enable the operator to quickly change the gun for wide or narrow spraying, the idler 30 is provided with a thumb lever 35 so arranged that by pushing the lever up or down the paint and air valves are simultaneously opened or closed to a greater or less extent. This thumb lever or handle 35 can be fastened to the idler in different positions in any suitable manner by screwing into different holes 36 in the idler, so as to vary the limits to which the spray can be flattened.

It may be desirable at times to operate the gun without the synchronous control of the valves, and accordingly in the modification shown in Figure 3, the idler gear can be slidably mounted on the journal 3I and thrown into and out of operative position by the coaction of a spring 3l and a setting cam 38 both carried by the journal. When the operating cam 38 is in the dotted line position, Figure 3, the valves are disconnected one from the otherfor independent adjustment, but when the cam is in the full line position the two valves are connected together, so that by the operation of the lever 35 the synchronous increase or decrease of the paint and air can be effected, and the paint spray altered accordingly.

It will be desirable to provide adjustable stop means whereby the setting of valves can be changed from one extreme to another; as, for instance, in spraying Wide surfaces the setting will be such that the flattened spray of maximum width Will be used, and for economy of air and paint it would be desirable to reduce the width of the spray to suit narrow work. For cases like this, the thumb lever 35 is provided with an adjustable stop 40 carried by a nut 4I threaded on the shaft of the lever 35, and so arranged that it may be thrown into engagement with some parts of the gun, such as the knobs 8 or 23, or gears 28 or 29. The stop member or finger 40 is held in any desired position of adjustment by a lock nut 42 threaded on the lever 35 and engaging the nut 4I. With this arrangement the gun may be used for producing a round spray, with the lever all the way down, as in Figures 2 and 6, with the numerals 6 of the scales on the knobs 8 and 23 nearest to each other. This means that the air valve 2U controlling the flattening of the spray is closed and a round spray is produced, as in Figure 5. If the stop finger is in the position shown in Figure 2, and the lever 35 is thrown upwardly, it will come to rest in about mid position to produce a flattened spray of half width, as shown in Figure 7, with the index numbers 4-4 on the knobs 8 and 23 opposite each other. This effect is also produced when the nger is in the position shown in Figure 8, and the thumb lever moved from its uppermost position, as shown in Figure 10, downwardly, changing the setting from a spray of full width, Figure 9, to a spray of half width, Figure 7. When a spray of maximum width is produced, the index numbers 1--1 on the knobs 8 and 23 are opposite each other, as in Figure 10. By throwing the stop finger 40 to a lateral position, as in Figures 6 and 10, the thumb lever can be moved from one extreme to the other, thatjs to say, from setting 1-1, with the paint and air valves fully openyto setting 6 6, with only the paint valve open; or to any intermediate position, without the stop member 40 interfering.

The spray head 3, as shown in Figure -11, is

a cap-like structure fitted on the frusta-conical body 43 of the paint nozzle 44, and it is clamped in position by a clamping ring 45 that is screwed on the gun body I, and has an inwardly spun or swaged flange 46 spun thereon which is adapted to lie behind the wings I8 and to come into engagement with an external annular shoulder 4l on the atomizer head 3, whereby the clamping ring is permanently attached to the latter by reason of the shoulder 41 and the wings I8 of the head.

As the present gun is so designed as to provide for an extremely wide range of operating conditions, the atomizer head is provided with jet flattening means of special design, so that air resistance is reduced to a minimum and the two` flattening sprays will operate uniformly on the paint spray. The wings I8 are of substantial construction and each is provided with a jet orifice or passage 48 leading inwardly to an enlarged chamber 49 formed by counterboring from the outer surface 50 o-f the wing. The chamber 49 is closed by a plug or screw 5I. Leading inwardly from the chamber is a passage 52 of substantial dimensions that conducts air from the annular distributing channel 53 in the body of the atomizer head 3, air being supplied through ports 54 from the supply passage I9 in the body of the gun. Because of the relative arrangement of the passages 52 and orifices 48 and chambers 49, the jets of air ow with a minimum of resistance to impinge on the paint spray and produ-ce the flattening eiect thereof.

In order to prevent paint from building up around the central paint suction orifice 55 of the atomizer head, the latter has an annular orifice 56 concentric with the orifice 55, and obliquely disposed to the axis of the latter, so that a fine conical jet of air is produced that blows off any paint that might collect on the spray head. The channel 56 communicates with the air pressure space 51 in the head 3 through distributed apertures 58 drilled in the head 3 in line with the oblique annular channel 56.

I claim:

1. A spray gun for the application of coating material or the like to surfaces, in which the density of spray and shape of the spray pattern may be varied in accordance with the work to be done, comprising in combination a body portion provided with a nozzle and liquid and air passageways leading thereto, means for regulating the rate of flow through each of said passageways in order to determine the density of the spray and the shape of the spray pattern in accordance with the nature of the coating to be applied, means for effecting the starting and stopping of flow through said passageways, a common actuating member for said last named means each of said regulating means including a. member which is rotatable with respect to said body portion to effect said regulation, a common means operating directly upon both of said flow regulating means to simultaneously set them for predetermined rates of flow to be effective upon .operation of said actuating means to start flow through said passageways, said simultaneous setting means comprising a gear carried by each of said regulating members, and an idler gear carried by said body portion and normally meshing with each of said first named gears whereby upon adjustment of one of said members the other may be correspondingly adjusted.

2. A spray gun for coating material or the like,

' of the type generally adapted for manual support and manipulation, comprising, in combination, a body portion provided with a nozzle and liquid and air passageways leading thereto, means for regulating the rate of flow through each of said passageway, means for controlling the starting and stopping of flow through said passageways, actuating means for said last named means, each of said regula-ting means including a member which is rotatable with respect to said body portion to effect said regulation and manipulating means on each member for rotating it, means for effecting a simultaneous setting of both of said regulating means for predetermined rates of flow to be effective upon operation of said actuating means to start flow through said passageways, said simultaneous setting means comprising a gear carried by each of said regulating members, an idler gear carried by said body portion and normally meshing with both of said first named gears, whereby upon adjustment of one of said members the other may be correspondingly adjusted, and means for disengaging said idler gear and said first named gears whereby individual adjustments of said members may be accomplished.

3. A spray gun for coating material or the like, of the type generally adapted for manual support and manipulation, comprising, in combination, a body portion provided with a nozzle and liquid and air passageways leading thereto, means for regulating the rate of iiow through each of said passageways, means for controlling the starting and stopping of flow through said passageways, actuating means for said last named means, each of said regulating means including a member which is rotatable withl respect to said body portion to effect said regulation and manipulating means on each member for rotating it, means for effecting a simultaneous setting of both of said regulating means for predetermined rates of flow to be eiective upon operation of said actuating means to start flow through said passageways, said simultaneous setting means comprising a gear carried by each of said regulating members, an idler gear carried by said body portion and normally meshing with both of said first named gears and forming a connection whereby upon adjust-ment of one of said members the other may be correspondingly adjusted, and means for moving said idler gear axially to disengage said connection between said iirst named gears, whereby individual adjustments of said members may be accomplished.

4. A spray gun for coating material or the like, of the type generally adapted for manual support and manipulation, comprising, in combination, a body portion provided with a nozzle vand liquid and air passageways leading thereto, means for regulating the rate of iiow through each of said passageways, means for controlling the starting and stopping of ow through said passageways, actuating means for said last named means, each of said regulating means including a member which is rotatable with respect to said body portion to effect said regulation and manipulating means on each member for rotating it, means for effecting a. simultaneous setting of both of said regulating means for predetermined rates of ilow to be effective upon operation of said actuating means to start ow through said passageways, said simultaneous setting means comprising a gear carried by each of said regulating members, an idler gear carried by said body portion and normally meshing with both of said rst named gears, whereby upon adjustment of one of said members the other may be correspondingly adjusted, said manipulating means and said first named gears being axially movable to disengage them from said idler gear, whereby individual adjustments of said members may be accomplished.

5. A spray gun for coating material or the like, of the type generally adapted for manual support and manipulation, comprising, in combination, a body portion provided with a nozzle and liquid and air passageways leading thereto, means for regulating the rate of flow through each of said passageways, means for controlling the starting and stopping of ilow through said passageways, actuating means for said last named means, each of said regulating means including a member which is rotatable with respect to said body portion to effect said regulation and manipulating means on each member for rotating it, means for effecting a simultaneous setting of both of said regulating means for predetermined rates of ow to be effective upon operation of said actuating means to start ow through said passageways, said simultaneous setting means comprising a gear carried by each of said regulating 'members an idler gear carried by said body portion and normally meshing with each of said first named gears, whereby upon adjustment of one of said members the other may be correspondingly adjusted, and a manipulative member on said idler gear for rotating it to simultaneously alter the settings of said members.

6. A spray gun for coating material or the like. of the type generally adapted for manual support and manipulation, comprising, in combination, a body portion provided with a lnozzle and liquid and air passageways leading thereto, means for regulating the rate of iiow through each of said passageways, means for controlling the starting and stopping of iiow through said passageways, actuating means for said last named means, each of said regulating means including a member which is rotatable with respect to said body portion to eilect said regulation and manipulating means on each member for rotating it, means for effecting a simultaneous setting of both of said regulating means for predetermined rates oi' flow to be eiective upon operation of said actuating means to start iiow through said passageways, said simultaneous setting means comprising a gear carried by each of said regulating members, an idler gear carried by said body portion and normally meshing with each of said iirst named gears, whereby upon adjustment of one of said members the other may be correspondingly adjusted, a hand lever on said idler gear..for rotating it to simultaneously alter the settings of said members, a iinger extending from said lever, and means for adjusting said nger to abut suitable portions of said device to limit the rotation of said idler gear.

7. A spray gun for coating material or the like, of the type generally adapted for manual support and manipulation, comprising, in combina.- tion, a body portion provided with a nozzle and liquid and air passageways leading thereto. means for regulating the rate of flow through each of said passageways, means for controlling the starting and stopping of flow through said passageways, actuating means for said last named means, each of said regulating means including a member which is rotatable with respect to said body portion to eilect said regulation and manipulating means on eachl member for rotating it, means for effecting a simultaneous setting of both of said regulating means for predetermined rates of iiow to be effective upon operation of said actuating means to start iiow through said passageways, said simultaneous setting means comprising a gear carried by each of said members, an idler gear carried by said body portion and normally meshing with each of said rst named gears, whereby upon adjustment of one of said members the other may be correspondingly adjusted, a hand lever on said idler gear for rotating it to simultaneously alter the settings of said members, a curved finger threadedly connected with said lever and rotatable to a plurality of positions whereby it may abut suitable portions of said device to limit the rotation of said idler gear.

8. A spray gun for coating material or the like, of the type generally adapted for manual support and manipulation, comprising, in combination, a body portion provided with a nozzle and liquid and air passageways leading thereto, means for regulating the rate of flow through each of said passageways, means for controlling the startmg and stopping of flow through said passageways, actuating means for said last named means, each of said regulating means including a member which is rotatable with respect to said body portion to effect said regulation and manipulating means on each member for rotating it, means for eiecting a simultaneous setting of both of Said regulating means for predetermined rates of flow to be eiective upon operation of said actuating means to start flow through said passageways, said simultaneous setting means comprising a gear carried by each of said members, an idler gear carried by said body portion and normally meshing with each of said rst named.

aosaoov gears, whereby upon adjustment of one of said members the other may be correspondingly adjusted, a hand lever selectively attachable to said idler gear at any one of a series of spaced points around the periphery thereof, a linger extending from said lever, and means for adjusting said finger t abut suitable portions of said device to limit the rotation of said idler gear.

9. A spray gun for coating material or the like,

lof the type generally adapted for manual support and manipulation, comprising, in combination, a body portion provided with a nozzle and liquid and air passageways leading thereto, means for regulating the rate of ilow through each of said passageways, means for controlling the starting and stopping of iiow through said passageways, actuating means for said last named means; each of said regulating means including a member which is axially movable with respect to said body portion and also rotatable with respect thereto to effect said regulation, means for effecting a, simultaneous setting of both of said regulating means for predetermined rates of flow to be effective upon operation of said actuating means to start ow through said passageways, said simultaneous setting means comprising a gear carried by each of said members, an idler gear carried by said body portion and normally lmeshing with each of said first named gears, whereby upon adjustment of one of said members the other may be correspondingly adjusted, and manipulating means on each of said members for moving them axially to disengage them from said idler gear and for rotating them for either simultaneous or independent adjustment.

10. A spray gun for coating material or the like, of the type generally adapted for manual support and manipulation, comprising, in combination, a body portion provided with a nozzle and liquid and air passageways leading thereto, means for regulating the rate oi' ilow through each of said passageways, means for controlling the starting and stopping of flow through said passageways, actuating means for said last named means; said regulating means comprising a rotatable valve in said air passageway, a valve in said liquid passageway, a stem for each of said valves, a limiting device on the liquid valve stem adapted to predetermine the degree of opening of said liquid valve upon rotative adjustment of said valve stem, a gear carried by each oi said valve stems, an idler gear carried by said body portion and normally meshing with each of said rst named gears, whereby upon adjustment of one of said members the other will be correspondingly adjusted, means for moving each of said valve stems axially in order to disengage its gear from said idler gear to permit individual adjustment of its valve, and spring means for resisting said axial movement.

11, A spray gun for coating material or the like, of the type generally adapted for manual support and manipulation, comprising, in combination, a, body portion provided with a nozzle and liquid and air passageways leading thereto, means for regulating the rate of ow through each of said passageways, means for controlling the starting and stopping of ow through said passageways, actuating means for said last named means, each of said regulating means including a member which is rotatable with respect to said body portion to effect said regulation and manipulating means on each member for rotating it, means for eiecting a simultaneous setting of bothl of said regulating means for predetermined rates of flow to be effective upon operation of said actuating means to start iiow through said passageways, said simultaneous setting means comprising .a gear carried by each of said regulating members, an idler gear carried by said body portion and normally meshing with each of said first named gears forming a connection whereby upon adjustment of one of said members the other may be correspondingly adjusted, and a cam arranged to move said idler gear axially to disengage said connection between said first named gears, and to retain it in disengaged position whereby individual adjustments of said members may be accomplished.

12. A spray gun for coating material or the like, of the type generally adapted for manual support and manipulation, comprising, in combination, a body portion provided with a nozzle and liquid and air passageways leading thereto, means for regulating the rate of flow through each of said pasageways, means for controlling the starting and stopping of ilow through said passageways, actuating means for said last named means, said regulating means comprising a valve in the air paageway rotatable to regulate the rate of :ilow therethrough, a valve in the liquid passageway, an adjustable connection between said actuating means and said liquid valve for determining the rate of flow through the liquid passageway upon operation of said actuating means, rotatable means for setting said adjustable connection, gears carried by said rotatable means and said air valve stem respectively, an idler gear carried by said body portion and adapted t0 normally mesh with said rst named gears whereby adjustment of the one effects a corresponding adjustment of the other.

ALEXANDER F. JENKINS. 

